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The Monday Round-Up: Brownlee Dominates Debut IRONMAN Event

Alistair Brownlee impresses all at the IRONMAN 70.3 North American Pro Championship, race recaps, races on tap, and more news from the world of IRONMAN.

Weekend at a Glance

IRONMAN 70.3 St George

The British Strike Gold in Utah

Two-time Olympic gold medalist (2012, 2016) Ali Brownlee (GBR) made his debut appearance at IRONMAN 70.3 racing, and left St. George after putting half-distance triathletes on notice. The 29-year-old was out of the water with the leader and put his ITU super swift transition skills to good practice that resulted in Brownlee starting the bike with the lead.

Without a doubt, Brownlee made his mark on the bike as he rode the entire 56 miles solo. The two-time ITU Triathlon World Champion managed to virtually match the bike split times of Lionel Sanders (CAN), and Sebastian Kienle (DEU), both considered some of the fastest cyclists in the sport, and who had the advantage working together throughout much of the bike in attempt to minimize the damage inflicted by Brownlee out front.

Brownlee was over a half mile into the run when Sanders and Kienle dismounted their bikes and faced a three-minute deficit on one of the most gifted athletes currently in the sport. Sanders took off like a mad man on a mission in pursuit of Brownlee up the road. Sanders, now running in second started to claw back time on the leader and reduced his disadvantage to two minutes at seven miles and then got it down to one minute with two mile remaining in the run. Brownlee, looking fresh, grabbed the finish line banner in a course record time of 3:41:58 to hold off the hard charge from behind that Sanders was throwing at him in the closing miles of the run.

In what has become her signature winning race strategy, the reigning IRONMAN 70.3 world champion, Holly Lawrence (GBR)was in the front of the women's field out of the water and built upon her advantage throughout the 56-mile bike course with a smoking bike split. Just how good was Lawrence's bike split St. Gerorge? Jeanni Seymour (ZAF) recorded the second fastest bike split and her best resulted in spotting the champ +7:14 over the challenging course in Utah.

It was only Seymour's gutsy race-best run on the day that made the women's race somewhat close at the end. Seymour started the run +7:27 down to Lawrence and only managed to whittle her deficit down to three minutes at the conclusion of the race. Once again, Lawrence proved that her prowess in the swim and on the bike sets her up perfectly to not have to go all out on the run unless absolutely necessary, which hasn't happened so far this year in her IRONMAN 70.3 starts.

IRONMAN Australia

When the IRONMAN 70.3 world champion and noted star runner Tim Reed zoomed into the lead midway through the marathon run, most thought a successful defense of his maiden IRONMAN Australia victory was a formality. Nobody told fellow Australian David Dellow, who responded to the challenge to reclaim the lead, going on to win at Port Macquarie for the first time in 8:15.35.

Dellow produced a negative split for his marathon – 1:24.16 for the first 21kms and 1:23.25 for the second – to not only claim the victory but keep Reed’s charge at bay, which faded to see him finish over seven minutes behind Outstanding swim-biker Clayton Fettell set the pace, as expected, with a 45:18 swim, which was four minutes faster than Dellow and Reed. Fettell’s 4:30.39 bike gave him a 7:40 buffer on to the run on Dellow but that was swallowed up by 12kms of the run. It was Dellow’s second IRONMAN victory five years after his win in Cairns to go with podiums at Melbourne in 2014, along with Port Macquarie and Cairns in 2016.

British triathlete Laura Siddall is an athlete who splits her time between UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. The likeable Brit emerged with an IRONMAN age group title in Kona in 2013 and it has taken a further four years to register her first as a professional at IRONMAN Australia.

She stamped her class on a small field winning by some 27 minutes. She was four minutes down on Canadian Karen Thibodeau out of the water in 56:33 but was in front by 35km on the bike and waved goodbye. Siddall had eight minutes on the chasers at 90kms and 18minutes at T2 after a 5:03 bike. Her 3:13 run was more than seven minutes faster than runner-up Michelle Gailey (AUS) on the way to winning in 9:16:38, to follow podiums at Malaysia in 2016 and a runner-up spot in New Zealand in March.

IRONMAN 70.3 Busselton

Wilson Runs Away While Gibb Holds on at Western Australia

The running legs of former ITU star Dan Wilson proved the difference in a classy field of noted runners at the Sunsmart IRONMAN 70.3 Busselton. A bunch comprising Kiwis Mark Bowstead, Callum Millward and Casey Munro and Aussies Ryan Fisher, Wilson and multi-world champion Craig Alexander came off the bike together.

But it was Wilson who pushed from start of the 21.1km run, opening a 13 second buffer at 3.5km and nearly a minute at the halfway mark. His outstanding 1:11.29 run would carry him to his second IRONMAN 70.3 victory. Alexander struck another blow for the 40-something brigade with his 1:12.53 pushing him to a comfortable second placing, 1:19 behind the winner, with Fisher third.

Wilson, a keen musician who sports a double degree in behavioural and applied science, enjoyed his breakthrough win at Western Sydney late last year and was third at Geelong at the start of this year.

Australian Katey Gibb enjoyed her breakthrough win in the women in 4:18.04 proving that second best was good enough. She was second fastest in the swim in 26.58 behind Alise Selsmark; second fastest behind Kerry Morris on the bike by 2 secs in 2:21.07 and her 1:26.40 run was second to Jacqueline Thistleton’s 1:25.38.

Gibb opened a one minute buffer midway through the bike but Morris’s charge meant that Gibb took just 13 seconds lead on to the run. However, she pushed clear again to 1:48 at 10kms of the run before Thistleton emerged, reducing the margin back to 49 seconds at the finish. Gibb has enjoyed three podiums as a professional since 2015 before her first victory at Busselton.

IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam

Van Berkel and Eberhardt-Halasz Prevail in Blazing Heat in Vietnam

Accomplished Australian Tim van Berkel chalked up his fifth career win over the distance on a blazing hot day at IRONMAN 70.3 Vietnam. He was 14 seconds back on leader Tim Betten out of a packed swim and remained solidly in a six-strong group at the pointy end of the bike on the first of two laps.

Double world champion Michael Raelert, chasing his 13th career victory over the distance, smashed out a sizeable advantage on the second loop before a puncture cruelly ended his day. Van Berkel and New Zealand’s Mike Phillips pushed hard off the front of the group to establish a 1:46 buffer on to the 21.1km run.

After 15 career podiums and four wins, van Berkel overcame a slow start to 2017 following minor placings at Geelong, Subic Bay and Taiwan before his fifth victory, nabbing the victory in 3:56.19, over four minutes clear of Russian Ivan Kalashnikov who had the day’s best run to push to second with Phillips holding on for third a further two minutes back.

There was drama in the women’s race with Asia-based Australian Dimity-Lee Duke seemingly in control from the gun. She was second out of the swim behind New Zealand’s Laura Wood, but pushed into a handy lead on the second bike loop. Her advantage was up to three minutes on the run before the heat took its toll and she faded badly over the final few kilometres with victory in sight.

Hungarian Anna Eberhardt-Halasz eased her way to a breakthrough victory from behind in 4:34.56, with Duke second over two minutes back and Wood well back in third. Halasz, who has four previous podiums in Europe, had minor placings in recent months in Asia with fourth in Taiwan, fifth in Xiamen and sixth in Thailand.

IRONMAN 70.3 Pay d'Aix

Follow the IRONMAN 70.3 Pay d'Aix pro race action here on IRONMAN.com and on Twitter at @IRONMANLive. Join the conversation using the hashtag #IM703 PaydAix for both Twitter and Instagram.

Follow your age group athlete's progress throughout the race on the IRONMAN Athlete Tracker.

Race start time: Sunday: 7:30 a.m. CEST

Kona Together—Rinny and T.O.

Chile Welcomes a New Race

The Skechers Performance IRONMAN 70.3 Coquimbo will take place in Coquimbo, Chile, on October 21, 2017. General registration opens on May 4, 2017.

Coquimbo, located north of Chile's capital city, Santiago, offers a beautiful backdrop for the new event venue. The South American country is already known for HERBALIFE IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon held in southern Chile. Athletes will have the opportunity to race through a region filled with stunning coastlines and star-filled skies nearby the Elqui Valley, known for its vibrant energy, fruitful vineyards, historical mining sites and some of the world’s most significant observatories.

The IRONMAN Foundation today announced that the 2017 IMF Ambassador Team comprising 19 age-group triathletes from around the United States will be led by Team Captain and "Voice of IRONMAN" Mike Reilly as well as by pro triathletes Mirinda Carfrae, a three-time IRONMAN world champion, and Timothy O’Donnell, a multi-year IRONMAN World Championship top-ten finisher. To support The Foundation’s mission to create tangible impact in IRONMAN race communities through philanthropy and volunteerism, the ambassadors will focus their efforts on The Foundation’s eight service projects in North America.

Each service project is conducted in partnership with a local nonprofit organization, powerfully linking IRONMAN athletes and TriClubs to the local race community. At the 2017 IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside triathlon, an adaptive surf clinic for children with physical challenges was held with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. At the 2017 IRONMAN North American Championship Texas triathlon, a local disabled senior received a new roof and volunteers helped restore the exterior of her home with Rebuilding Together Houston.

Additional service projects include flood restoration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Friends of Lake Sonoma at IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa, an adaptive climbing clinic and trail maintenance with Paradox Sports at IRONMAN Boulder, a race week hands-only CPR training with the American Red Cross at IRONMAN Lake Placid, and a day of service with the Salt River Children’s Foundation at IRONMAN Arizona. Two additional projects are planned for the 2017 IRONMAN World Championship and IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events.

"I'm extremely proud to represent the IRONMAN Foundation this season as the captain of the IMF Ambassador Team," said Mike Reilly, Voice of IRONMAN. "This team has a unique opportunity to connect with our local race communities and give back through sport. The IRONMAN Foundation athletes give of themselves in order for others to achieve, there is no greater honor!"